HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

Chapter 165 The First Invitation

Cedric Diggory, like a knight straight out of a medieval painting, gently extends his arm toward the princess who is about to disembark from the carriage. His focused posture is full of protectiveness, yet also carries a hint of invitation, as if he is expecting the beautiful princess to jump into his arms.

With such elegance and gentle focus, it's hard not to be captivated.

"I......"

Lyra's eyelashes trembled slightly.

The dark-haired boy opposite her stared at her nervously.

As they gazed at each other, the atmosphere gradually became more intimate.

“Excuse me,” Fred said, seemingly unaffected by the strange atmosphere, “she already has a dance partner—”

Cedric and Lyra were both shocked.

"When did I get a dance partner?" Leila was utterly bewildered. "How come I didn't know—"

“Of course,” George nodded with utmost seriousness, “you’ll definitely be coming to the ball with us!”

“What?” Cedric found it utterly absurd.

“What do you mean, ‘we’?” Lyra asked incredulously. “You mean you and Fred…?”

The red-haired twins nodded naturally.

“Wait a minute,” Leila felt dizzy, “There are two of you, how can I be both your dance partners at the same time... and, and you didn’t even invite me!”

“Why not?” George winked playfully at Leila. “There’s no rule against three people going to a ball together, and besides, we’re not exactly law-abiding folks—”

“And we did invite you,” Fred said matter-of-factly. “When Professor McGonagall announced the Christmas ball, George and I asked you if you were going, and you said of course—”

Lyra vaguely recalled the scene from her Transfiguration class. It seemed that after Professor McGonagall announced the news of the ball, the whole class cheered, and then the twins sitting on either side of her turned to ask her a question—

"Hey buddy, wanna go to the dance?"

"..." Lyra, who had completely recalled everything, was speechless.

What kind of dance invitation is this? Isn't this asking if she'll stay at school to attend the Christmas dance?

This is a far cry from a formal invitation to be a dance partner!

“I understand—” Leila smiled kindly.

"It's good that you understand..."

Fred was completely oblivious to the danger and was quite pleased with Lyra's approval, but the more perceptive George already sensed something was wrong. He quietly nudged his brother and began to back away imperceptibly.

"I think you two are clearly just too lazy to find dance partners, and you're deliberately trying to ruin my dance partner situation—"

Lyra's furious flames were so real that Harry, who was peeking from the corner, seemed to see a raging fire erupting from behind her.

Then Lyra pulled out her wand and swung it vigorously—

"Flocks of birds!"

Lyra summoned a flock of small yellow birds with sharp teeth and claws, which completely surrounded Fred and George, attacking them relentlessly.

"Awooo—" The twins covered their heads and ran away.

“…” Cedric, who was watching from the sidelines, touched his nose somewhat awkwardly, feeling that he had probably invited her at an inopportune time.

...Perhaps we should talk about this separately.

“Thank you for your invitation, Cedric.” Lyra, who was directing the birds to attack the twins, suddenly turned around and thanked her softly.

Harry and Cedric Diggory, who were eavesdropping, both felt their hearts leap into their throats.

“Can I get back to you later?” Lyra lowered her eyes slightly, then quickly looked back, staring intently into Cedric’s eyes as she replied, “I need to have a… good… talk with my two friends first—”

Cedric paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

“It’s okay, you can think about it as long as you want,” Cedric said. “At least you didn’t reject me, did you?”

Cedric's eyes sparkled. He glanced at Lyra with restraint, but couldn't contain his excitement and left with light steps.

Harry quickly turned back and ran down the stairs again, his heart still pounding, whether from the act of eavesdropping itself or from what he overheard.

As Harry felt his mind wasn't working properly, he confirmed one fact once again—

Inviting your dream girl to the Christmas ball is much harder than defeating a fire dragon.

*

The news spread everywhere within a morning.

Cedric Diggory, the hero of Hufflepuff, invited Lyra White of Gryffindor to the ball, and she did not refuse!

It seems the news came from Cedric's friend.

Cedric's friends are very supportive; he's had a crush on the dark-haired girl from Gryffindor for some time now.

Lyra White is indeed a beautiful girl, and she and Cedric, the pride of Hufflepuff, are a perfect match.

"Although I didn't agree immediately, I didn't refuse on the spot either—"

The Hufflepuffs spoke optimistically, seemingly believing that this was just typical behavior for girls, and that sometimes girls should be reserved.

Many boys were disappointed, believing that Lyra White's chances of accepting an invitation from Diggory, the Hogwarts hero, were very slim.

A significant number of people shared Harry's idea and were quietly keeping a close eye on the matter.

"Hey Harry, did you hear—" Ron walked past the Hufflepuff table with a look of utter shock, heading straight for Harry who was sitting at the Gryffindor table.

Harry knew what news Ron was going to say before Ron even opened his mouth.

That's right, he not only knew about it, but he also listened to the live broadcast.

“So,” Hermione asked, “Lyra didn’t accept Diggory’s invitation?”

“Hermione, why don’t you ask Lyra for Harry why she didn’t agree to Diggory’s offer later?” Ron said.

“No need,” Harry said sullenly. “I know why…”

"..." Hermione choked up after hearing Harry's story.

Meanwhile, Ron, who was standing next to him, had already suffered a stroke.

"No, Fred and George are really going to the ball with Lyra, the three of them?" Ron's freckles seemed to brighten with confusion. "I mean, I've never heard of a threesome—"

"Use your brain, Ron!" Hermione said, exasperated. "Is it possible that Fred and George simply dislike Diggory and are deliberately causing trouble? I remember you boys don't like Diggory..."

Hermione's expression, which seemed to say, "You're just jealous of each other's excellence," stung Ron and Harry.

"Is there no one besides Cedric who is worthy of Lyra?" Ron retorted. "Harry is a Hogwarts champion! And one of our own Gryffindors, why should he be compared to a Hufflepuff—"

Harry didn't say anything, but the thought of Diggory's smile and light steps as he left weighed heavily on his heart.

Will Leila eventually accept the invitation?